Welfare letter urges jobless to LEAVE Ireland

Fury as 4,000 young people told to emigrate to find work

Welfare officials have sent 4,000 letters to young people encouraging them to take up work abroad, the Irish Mirror can reveal.

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton detailed how her department is urging people on the dole to go to the UK, Spain, France and Norway if they want a job.

She defended the cruel practice which was branded “a disgraceful tactic” last night by Fianna Fail who claimed the Government “has given up on young people”.

Ms Burton said: “It is important to note there is no obligation on unemployed jobseekers in receipt of income supports to apply for overseas vacancies.

“In notifying jobseekers of such vacancies the Department is simply drawing their attention to vacancies that exist and that are simultaneously being brought to the attention of jobseekers in other countries.

“The Department would be failing in its duties if it did not offer Irish jobseekers an equal opportunity to compete for such vacancies if they so wish.”

Ms Burton added the 4,000 letters this year have been sent to people outlining job openings in Spain, Norway, France and the UK.

She said a range of positions including English teachers, plumbers, sales, hospitality, mechanics and electricians are being offered.

The minister added it was not possible to know how many people applied for and secured employment using the service.

Fianna Fail’s Social Protection spokesman Willie O’Dea said this was a damning indictment of the Government’s job policy.

He added: “It is now blatantly obvious that a central plank of the Government’s plans to tackle unemployment is emigration.

“It is a disgraceful tactic by this Government. It seems to have given up on young people.

“They are slashing young people’s income support, which makes it extremely difficult for our young people to live in this country. They have also failed miserably to implement labour activation measures that work.

“The obvious discrimination is galling and shows how little faith Fine Gael and Labour have in the next generation.”

Mr O’Dea said the figures do not detail the full extent of the problem.

He added: “The minister made no reference to the jobs offered in Australia or America.

“I will be following up with her to discover the size of the problem.

“You can’t pretend you are fixing the problem when you are in reality exporting it.”

Ms Burton told the Irish Mirror last weekend she was doing everything possible to bring down jobless numbers.

And she added more has to be done at Cabinet level to take people off the Live Register.

Ms Burton said: “I want to see every minister around the Cabinet table contributing to give people who are on the Live Register a chance to get back to work.

“We need to get people back to work. That is not my exclusive responsibility.”